Legacy
by Pink Lady Alex
Summary: As Iron Man, Tony Stark is invincible. His power comes at a cost though - it's slowly killing him. Ramirez and Yinsen are the keepers of this secret, and they struggle with the fact that they will soon lose the friend who brought the three together. Meanwhile, new enemies threaten to tear them all apart. 3rd story in Captives saga.
1. Changes

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything pertaining to _Marvel Comics_ or _Iron Man_, or anything else related to this material of which I written about. All rights are reserved by the original owners.

_**Author's Note: **_Welcome to the third story about Ramirez, Stark, and Yinsen! For the newcomers, you might wish to read the preceding fics – _Captives_ and _Forging a Hero_. For those who have been following along – thanks for your continued interest!

* * *

**Chapter 1 – Changes**

Two months. Two amazing, exhilarating months full of risks and danger and energy. That was how long it had been since Julia Ramirez had gone from a woman in the air force to becoming a veritable superhero. Sometimes before she fell asleep at night she thought about the completely unexpected turn of events that had put her into those circumstances. It began in a cave in Afghanistan, with a man named Tony Stark. When he built an armoured suit that quite literally blasted their way out of a hostage situation, Stark, Ramirez, and their close friend, Yinsen, started down the path of constructing new suits with the purpose of turning back the damage Stark's weapon technology was wreaking upon the world.

Of course, being Tony Stark, he couldn't keep this a secret. "I am Iron Man" – from the moment those resolute words left his lips, everything changed. Stark ceased to be the world's leading arms developer; instead becoming a one-man army out to eliminate his weapons from the hands of terrorists and the black market, and instill peace and ceasefires in war-torn areas, especially where he had in some way contributed to the loss of civilian lives.

Whatever Tony did, he had to do it in a public way. He now had an image and alter-ego as Iron Man, the man with unparalleled strength and power. There were magazine spreads, and posters, and merchandise for kids. And it just seemed to get bigger everyday. Much to his personal assistant's chagrin, he was loving every moment of it. He was still the extravagant Tony Stark that the world was familiar with, just with a different, and debatably cleaner, focus.

Julia also had a suit and flew tandem with him on many missions, but her identity was a secret to the public. Even though there were widespread rumours about a second suit, Stark had not yet made any official statement about it. Meanwhile, Yinsen, their friend, mentor, and doctor, worked behind the scenes to help keep them both in the air. Their little group was tight; so much so that Pepper was thinking of giving them a collective nickname. However, in all the interviews that Tony began to do, his friends and the arc reactor in his chest were never mentioned. Those things he valued and kept from the media circus.

For Julia, she could think of few times when she had been happier. Through their efforts, they were resolving issues and making situations better for people on a larger scale than she could ever have hoped to achieve. She loved soaring through the skies; feeling the freedom only experienced by birds and fighter pilots. Each day was full of challenges and perils but she was getting to crave the adventure. It was a constant learning experience, but she had the best of friends to help her along the way.

For two months she had all of this, completely unhindered by the world outside Stark's house and from the cares of real, everyday life. For two months everything was perfect and there weren't any problems that crept in at night and disturbed her sleep. For two months all she had to do was suit up and head out on the next mission. And then it all started to change.

* * *

_**A/N: ** _So, this introductory chapter has gotten you acquainted with where our heroes are since that ground-breaking press conference. Any thoughts or questions? Feel free to voice some ideas too!


	2. The Big Reveal

_**Author's Note: **_At long last, the story begins! This chapter is indeed the big reveal for Julia's alter-ego name. Thanks so much for all of the reviews and to those who've started following this fic – I was really blow away by all of the interest.

* * *

**Chapter 2 – The Big Reveal**

The thrusters of her boots powered down as she entered the workshop, and a moment later she touched down on an electrostatic mat. When she spread her arms out, the automatic suiting system came up from the floor and rapidly took off the navy and copper suit – what had come to be known as an 'Iron Man' suit. With a slight groan, Julia stretched her tired muscles and went directly to the sub-zero refrigerator at the other side of the shop. As she was chugging down a cold bottle of Perrier, the lock at the door beeped and someone entered.

"Ah, good morning. Jarvis told me you had just come back." Yinsen smiled when he saw the woman. "Is Tony with you?"

"Good morning, and no, he should be here in the next ten minutes. We met up at the coast of Portugal and flew back together, but he stopped to check on "the mousetrap" in Denver; it's a difficult part of the interstate. Plus there's a storm over there."

"I see. Flying must have been difficult."

"It was. Not the worst we've been through, but it wasn't easy."

"How was the situation in Chad?"

"Messy. Honestly, I'm not sure if I'm doing any good by being there."

"As long as you are removing weapons out of everyone's hands, no matter what side they're on, fewer people can come into harm's way," the doctor assured her. "Will you and Tony go out on another mission later today?"

"I don't think so. I could sure use a break. And something to eat…"

As she opened the fridge again to look for some food, the gleaming red and gold suit came into the shop. Not long after Tony had fallen through the roof of his house following his first test flight, he decided to make a permanent roof opening complete with automatic doors. It made for a much easier entrance and exit to the workshop.

"You made good time getting back here," she remarked.

"Yeah, there were only a couple cars stuck in the ditches and the rescue crews were already there. How's it going, Yinsen?"

"I'm doing well. Virginia called earlier and asked that you call her when you return."

"Did she say what she wanted to talk about? Was it about the company? I bet it was about the company," Tony said as the robots took off his suit. "Well, first things first – sustenance." He started walking to the shop kitchen, but then faltered and reached out to a table to steady himself.

"Hey, are you alright?" Julia asked quickly.

He shook it off and stood straighter. "I'm fine."

"It's your arc reactor, isn't it?" from the way she spoke it was a statement, not a question. "The last few times we've been out I didn't like the energy readings on yours, and mine hasn't been performing like it should either."

"I think I'll have to get the upgrades done sooner than I thought."

"Both of you have really been using the suits a lot in the past couple months, so it's not too surprising that the energy consumption is more than estimated," Yinsen said.

"And since our field testing and actual usage have basically been all in the same, we're still gaining experience with our capabilities," Julia added, with a smirk at Tony.

"I maintain that this is the fastest way to test things! Besides, it's all new to me too."

"I'm sure it is, _Iron Man_."

"You need a superhero name so that I can tease you with it."

"And you'll probably be the only one who will use a name like that."

"Seriously though, what would you pick for a name?"

"I haven't really thought about it."

"Aw, come on! How could you _not_ think about it? Yinsen, back me up on this – what should we call her alter-ego?"

He shrugged. "It should be something that describes Julia's capacity in the suit."

Tony looked at her, then back at the suit in its case. "Well… you are usually tasked to the more 'undercover' missions. Hm…"

"You think about it, and I'm going to get some food," she said. "I think Greger put some leftovers in the main fridge."

"Bring some back for us!"

When Julia came back downstairs with three bowls of piping-hot chili, Tony was in the middle of a conversation with his personal assistant. Virginia's to-do list had only increased since the birth of Stark's superhero identity; yet, she seemed to handle it all gracefully and with more patience than Julia could ever muster.

Tony was pacing around the shop, twirling a screwdriver as he spoke into an earpiece. "No, haven't gotten to that yet…Well, I just got back…Forty-two hours ago I was in South Ossetia…Not really…They didn't seem to mind in Tajikistan…Okay, okay…Can't you just liaise…Alright, I'll do it…Oh come on, really?...When?...Okay, but I'll have you know that I had other plans…Yes, Pepper…Bye."

Yinsen and Julia were already settled into at the seating area when he finished the call and ambled over, looking disappointed.

"Apparently I need to get official clearance before entering other countries," he explained.

"That hasn't stopped you before," Yinsen quipped.

"Some governments, including this one, are taking issue with it."

"So what's happening now?" Julia asked.

"Pepper's coming over right now. She has set up some meetings for international relations or something, and I have to 'liaise' with Rhodey, as he is a liaison for Stark Industries. Also, there are tons of things to do for the Expo – at least that's something I want to do. But that's the rest of my day, and probably tomorrow too. I hope you guys have something to do in the meantime."

"I should probably go out and visit my folks – it's been a while," she replied.

"I have things to keep me occupied," the doctor added.

"Alright. Unless something big happens, we should meet back here in a couple days. We've got to get some shop-time in and get these arc reactors finished."

* * *

When she started flying on a regular basis, Julia had begun to feel constrained by driving around in an ordinary vehicle. She owned an SUV, but had left it in the care of her family when she went on tour. Now that she was back in California, she barely drove it. Her younger sister didn't like driving a big vehicle either, so it seemed like the time had come to find something new. A month ago Julia traded in the SUV and got a motorcycle license. She went through the California Motorcyclist Safety Program, taking the Premium Program Course. As soon as she passed, Julia bought a 2010 Kawasaki Z1000. Much to her surprise, she was becoming quite the speed demon.

As a hobby, Julia had done trail riding on her mountain bike, but her air force duties had left her with little time to pursue that. Thus, she also sold the bike to one of her older brothers, who was looking to get into the sport as a means of recreation. Julia didn't have much experience with motorcycles though. Aside from a few dirt biking excursions, and a ride on one of Tony's customs choppers, they were relatively foreign to her. However, her Kawasaki was the closest thing to flying. From all of the time she spent in the air, her reaction time had been sharpened, her maneuvering skills were well-developed – in essence, riding a motorcycle came naturally to her.

Making it to her family's neighbourhood in Downey in record time, Julia pulled up in front of the house and her sister, Florentina, all but burst out the front door.

Julia pulled off her helmet and gave her a look of suspicion. "Is everything okay?"

The young woman rolled her eyes. "Yes. It just thought you were some guy – you look like a dude on that bike."

"You're weird," Julia replied as she strode into the house.

"Is that you, Julia?" a woman's voice called out.

"Yes, mom!" she replied, and found her mother in the kitchen.

She greeted her with a hug. "Hello, honey! I recognized the sound of you and Tina arguing."

"How are things going? It's been a while."

"It's been five weeks since you last visited, to be exact. Things are going pretty much the same as always – your brothers are busy working and taking care of their families, your sister is doing her schooling, and your dad and I are running the business and the house. And you, where are you these days?"

Julia pinched off a piece of cookie dough that her mother was working on and popped it in her mouth. "I'm still living at Stark's place."

The older woman gave her a look. "You've been there an awfully long time; maybe it's time you moved on?"

"I don't think that I could move back here. Don't misunderstand me – I love being here, but I've gotten used to having my own space."

"I know Julia; that doesn't offend me. I'm just thinking that you might want to get your own place, maybe an apartment or a suite somewhere. We can help you if you need some money…"

"Oh mom, don't worry about that!"

"Well I just don't want to send you back out into the world unprepared."

"I'll think about it, okay?"

"Alright." There was a pause, then Mrs. Ramirez broached the subject that Julia was dreading would come up. "So, Mr. Stark does this Iron Man thing… what is that like?"

"It's… very cool, to be honest."

"Do you help out?"

She looked her mother in the eyes. "It would be better if we didn't talk about it. What he does is dangerous and creates the potential for powerful enemies." The battle she and Tony had had with Obadiah Stane had made that fact overwhelmingly clear. "Word cannot get out that I'm living there, otherwise things could get critical. The less everyone knows, even the family, the safer you are."

Her mother stared back at her in surprise. Surely they had heard the growing rumours about another person in a suit, but it seemed like the very possibility was forbidden to even ponder. It was inevitable that they would connect the dots though; who else in the world would fly about in a suit exactly like that of Iron Man's?

"I understand," Mrs. Ramirez finally said. She seemed a little hurt, but realized the logic. "I don't think that Florentina could be trusted with many more secrets anyways."

* * *

After enjoying a home-cooked supper and some much needed family-time, Julia went to bed and slept for a full ten hours. With all of the missions she had been doing, her internal clock had been jet-lagged for days. The next morning she stumbled into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of orange juice. She only had coffee occasionally, since she was determined not to become dependant on getting that fix. Julia took a seat at the table and groggily peered at the day's newspaper lying nearby. As she moved it closer she took a gulp of her juice; suddenly the headline made sense. Julia choked as the liquid went for her airway, and started coughing and spluttering.

The commotion alerted her mother, who quickly entered the room looking concerned. "Are you alright?"

Still coughing, she shook her head affirmatively.

Tina also stuck her head in to see what was going on. "Morning, Julia. Drink much?"

Her older sister glared at her.

"Oh, is that today's paper?" Mrs. Ramirez asked.

Julia almost snatched it from view, but realized that doing so would only seem more suspicious. "I have to make a phone call," she croaked.

If she had looked back she would've seen her mother read the headline and stare after her in alarm.

Furiously drumming her fingertips on the edge of the chair she was sitting on, Julia waited as Stark's cell phone rang.

When he finally answered, he sounded his usual self. "Hey! Did you miss me?"

She skipped the pleasantries. "Tony, what is going on? I've been gone a little less than twenty-four hours, and I have to wake up to a front page spread on-"

"Oh, you've seen that already?"

"Well, the words 'Stark's Secret Army?' were a little hard to miss. There are pictures of me in the Mark-J too!"

"It's okay, Pepper is getting things under control. I'll have to call you back though; she's telling me to get off the phone. Apparently I can't make personal calls while meeting with military officials."

She let out a heavy sigh. "Alright. Talk with you later."

Julia ended the call and started pacing around. Maybe it wasn't as bad as it looked. Grabbing a laptop, she started scanning news articles. From what she read, it seemed as though this was some sort of exposé. From several fleeting photographs of her in the Mark-J armour, working both solo and with Iron Man, the Internet was abuzz with all kinds of insinuations. It seemed as though people had also caught onto the fact that her suit had a different form than Stark's, prompting questions about the wearer being a woman. There was no denying that the suit made her look very strong, but the slight tapering was a give-away.

The only other person who could give her an idea of what was happening was Yinsen, whom she dialed immediately.

"Hello Julia, I wondered when you would be calling."

"Hi, Yinsen. Yeah, I was shocked to see the headlines this morning."

"As were we. It seems as though some journalist tried to make a story from all of the talk online, and went public right at press time without contacting Stark's PR."

"I aware there was some gossip, but this just went viral!"

"Virginia has been monitoring the press about Iron Man, but this blindsided her. She had estimated that it would take a little longer before the Internet rumours became an issue."

"So, what happens now?"

"Now, Stark is going to have a few meetings and release a statement to the press. That's all I know."

"Okay, thanks."

"Are you coming back today?"

"Yes, I think I should. It's going to be awkward around my family."

"You haven't told them?"

"How can I? They would need to keep it a secret, and it would be very difficult with something this big. I know they suspect that I'm involved with the whole Iron Man thing; it's kinda obvious since I'm still living at Tony's place."

"You will have to tell them eventually, you know. Keeping secrets from your family never ends well."

She sighed. "I will when the time is right."

"Well, don't be afraid to stay there – I'm sure that abruptly leaving will only make them more anxious. Not much is happening here anyways."

"I'll talk with you later then; and Tony."

In an effort to keep busy, Julia decided to sweep the large patio. Her sister had gone to work, as had her father, and her mother was doing laundry. It was peaceful, domestic. Until, of course, her cell phone rang. It was Pepper Potts calling with an update.

"Virginia, how are things?" she greeted the woman.

"Not bad at present. Let me tell you what's happened so far. The moment I learned about this story, I called Agent Coulson from S.H.I.E.L.D.; he spoke directly with the Department of Defense, and S.H.I.E.L.D. has vouched for you. That means that you are a trusted partner in Mr. Stark's Iron Man project, and are not a threat to either national or international security. They have also made it clear that your identity is to remain undisclosed for your own protection, as you aren't a public figure."

"And the D.O.D. is okay with that?"

"They'll have to be, since S.H.I.E.L.D. has claimed this issue to fall under their jurisdiction."

Julia felt of wave of relief. "I'm glad that's over."

"Well, uh, there's one thing you'll have to do…" Pepper continued hesitantly.

"What would that be?"  
"Tony and I just came out of a meeting with some senior military officials – Rhodes was there too – and it was decided that it would be best that Stark goes public with your alter-ego."

"What?!"

"If you have a public identity it will help dispel the talk about you being a hostile force acting on your own initiative. You wouldn't ever have to take off your helmet, but you will have to make an official public appearance with Iron Man, preferably today."

"Everyone is serious about this?"

"The public doesn't like shadowy figures that work in the dark, under the radar."

"But that's what I'm often doing!"

"Julia, please trust me. I'll help you through this, okay?"

She took a moment to breathe and think it all over. It was a good thing that S.H.I.E.L.D. had intervened; and Tony would still have the spotlight as Iron Man; and her identity would be a secret. "Alright," she replied, "I can live with this."

Pepper's voice took on an encouraging, soothing note; "You are going to be just fine. Believe me, you won't be nearly as stressful to deal with as Tony. Don't worry Julia, I've got your back on this."

"Thanks, Virginia."

"But honestly, there's an official appearance scheduled for five tonight."

"Okay, I'll be there. I'll be back at the house about three."

"That should work fine. Oh, Tony wants a word…"

Stark came on the line sounding gleeful. "Hey Julia – get back soon, we've got to polish the suits!"

* * *

Several hours later, Julia roared into Stark's garage on her motorcycle and parked it off to the side. Tony looked as though he'd been working for a while, and grinned when she approached. He and Dummy, one of his robots, were working on the new arc reactor he'd designed.

"How's it coming?" she asked.

"I think we're almost there. I wanted them done for tonight, but I think it still needs some tweaking."

Julia glanced at another arc reactor sitting there half-assembled. "They look a lot different."

"Removable core for the palladium; much more efficient than the removable ring design."

"And then the power circulates through here."

"Yep. See, you know this stuff."

"Understand it? Mostly. Actually come up with the idea? No way."

The shop elevator opened, and Yinsen emerged carrying a tray. Julia was glad that the injuries he had sustained in Afghanistan were healing well; he no longer had to walk with the aid of a cane. He attributed his recovery to the time he spent in the pool, as the exercise he did there had been exactly what he needed to get stronger.

"Ah, you're back. I hope you're hungry, as there is much leftover of that wonderful pasta."

"I could do with something to eat..." Julia's enthusiasm suddenly went cold. "Wait a moment, what about Greger? He would obviously know about-"

"Greger works with a 'What happens at Stark's house, stays at Stark's house' approach," Tony explained. "He probably knows exactly what's going on, but will never say anything about it."

"That's… good." She suddenly had a whole new respect for the Swedish chef.

"So, are you ready for the big reveal?" he asked, a grin on his face.

With a grunt to vocalize her reluctance, she took a seat near his desk where Yinsen had placed the tray.

"Come on, it's going to be fun!"

"How is this all going to proceed?" the doctor questioned.

"It's going to be on the Stark Industries campus, probably outside the offices. I'll fly in and land on the stage – which is being set up as we speak – and make some sort of short address, then Julia will fly in and land beside me. We take a few money-shots, and then we leave."

"I don't have to give a speech or anything, right?" Julia wasn't feeling any less anxious yet.

"No, not unless you want to. However, what you should be worried about is your superhero name."

"Oh please…"

"Got any suggestions? The thought has to have crossed your mind."

"Yeah, I guess, but I haven't come up with anything."

"All of mine have been pretty lame – I'm usually way better at this kind of stuff."

"Actually," Yinsen interjected, "I believe I have a good one."

* * *

It was a beautiful California evening; the air was clearer than usual and the sun was low in the sky. Julia took a moment to appreciate the view as she hovered high up. Not far away was Stark Industries, and Iron Man had just made his entrance. On the Mark-J's internal speakers, she listened to him speak to the crowd of reporters and other selected guests, explaining what he had been doing recently to combat aggressive forces across the globe. However, only time would tell how the world really felt about Iron Man, and what Stark was seeking to accomplish.

"…Early on, I realized that I could use a wingman. Someone who could watch my back, and be the voice of reason – because you all know how much I need that." The crowd laughed at Stark's self-deprecating joke, and he continued. "Also, I've found that hostile forces are so widespread that I can't be in two places at once. Having a good partner in the equation changes all of that. And now, it's my privilege to introduce to you…"

"Now," Julia breathed to herself.

She hurtled earthward at a breakneck speed. Hitting the thrusters just a few dozen feet before the ground, the force kicked up a gust of wind which blew over the assembly. People winced, then looked skyward as she slowly descended in a standing position. The eyes of her suit, white with a green tint, surveyed the crowd, and they stared back at the navy blue and copper armoured form in hushed awe. Julia killed thruster power and dropped onto the stage, landing in a half-crouched posture with outspread arms before straightening up. Instantly people cheered and cameras flashed.

Stark picked up where he had left off; "_Dark Maiden_!"

* * *

_**A/N: ** _So, what do you think of Julia's superhero name? Credit goes to Mr Osborne. Thank you very much to everyone who sent in their ideas!


	3. It's All In Your HUD

_**Author's Note: **_If you're scratching your head over the chapter title, it's supposed to be a play on the phrase "It's all in your head". HUD stands for heads-up display, which is in the Dark Maiden helmet. Starting to make sense? If not, you'll enjoy this chapter anyways.

* * *

**Chapter 3 – It's All In Your HUD**

"Okay, I'm going to bank around to the right. Can you take the left?"

"Got it."

"Watch for civilians."

"Think that we can work around them?"

"We're going to have to; I'm not sure if an evac is going to be possible, given the crossfire."

"Alright, let's do this. Have I ever mentioned that you're a natural leader?"

Julia's eyes flicked over to the small screen on her heads-up display that showed Tony's face. "No, but I must be – considering how well you're taking directions."

"Yeah, this is new for me," he replied with a smirk. "Ready when you are."

"Break off now."

Stark and Ramirez were in the middle of a mission in the Middle East. It was a turbulent region where far too many pieces of Stark Tech had found its way into eager hands. Not only were there weapons that were legally acquired, but there was a lively black market that brought even more arms into the area. Today, Iron Man and Dark Maiden were there to create a ceasefire between two warring factions, whose battle was threatening to spill into a nearby city. With both sides heavily armed, it was going to be a bit of a struggle for the peacemakers.

A blaze of gunfire tore through the air close to Julia's position. On the ground, a fifty-cal machine gun was spewing out the large bullet casings. A few bursts from that would be more than enough to shred a car or a building. She spiraled out of harm's way and focused her attention on a rocket launcher; she would deal with the gun later. Firing one of her own small but powerful missiles, it punctured a rocket and ignited the entire set in a fiery cloud.

"Nice! I saw that from way over here," Stark congratulated her. "You wouldn't believe the tanks they've got."

"You wouldn't believe the missiles they've got."

"Someone's been giving this group some very expensive toys to play with."

"They're even better equipped than the other side."

"We'll analyze later – let's light this place up."

"Civilians are clear from what I can see; militants might need a little more persuasion."

"I'll race you – whoever's last to clear out the weapons tech has to make lunch!"

"You're on!"

Julia swooped down into the thick of the hostile force, using the palm thrusters to blast any and all weapons that she came across. A quick shoulder check showed that most of the base was on fire and the militants were fleeing. When she looked forward, she was on a collision course with the barrel of a tank. Her suit's sensors were already issuing warnings and Jarvis' voice urged her to take evasive action – she only had enough time to do a mid-air roll out of the path of the shell. At the same time, she was hit by heavy gunfire, which knocked her completely off-course. Julia crashed and rolled on the dusty earth. When she recovered, she was surrounded by men with automatic rifles; all of them being AK-47s and RPKs. The Mark-J was going to need repairs when they got home, Julia thought in the back of her mind.

She was still in a crouched position on the ground, so she stayed motionless and spread her arms out with palms pointed downwards. The group took a collective step toward her, and Julia blasted the dry ground. The dust cloud that was created gave her enough cover to leap out of the way as the men blindly opened fire. The first person she crashed into was immediately stripped of his gun, which the Dark Maiden tore in half and threw back into the fray as she fired her thrusters and went skyward again. Her main goal was to remove the weapons from conflicts, not to be a judge and executioner.

"Ma'am, it would appear that you are nearly within targeting range of both a surface-to-air missile and several fifty-caliber guns," Jarvis told her calmly.

That was something that she still hadn't gotten used to yet – being addressed as 'ma'am'. "Alright, I'm going to kill all of these birds with one stone. I'll need most of the power at the thrusters to do it."

"Done," the A.I. responded.

"Hey, I've almost got my part demobilized," Tony informed her. "What about you?"

"Same. Meet you on that ridge to the southwest?"

"Sure."

Julia waited until the missile locked onto her, then she streaked down to where the large guns were mounted on various trucks. She could already see the people manning them flee for safety – they knew exactly what was about to happen. Daring to skim right over the first vehicle, she pulled out of the way easily enough, but the missile plowed right into it. The force threw the truck onto another, and the debris hit a third one; everything was set ablaze.

Dark Maiden landed at their specified location and watched the black smoke ascend. A moment later Iron Man touched down beside her.

"I'd call that a tie," he said.

"I'm inclined to agree."

* * *

"Hey, you look like you've been down here a while," Julia remarked as she walked into the shop.

"Believe me, he has been," Yinsen answered. "Tony, when do you sleep?"

"I don't have time to sleep – there's so much to do."

"Well, that's what happens when you've got about fifty-two projects going at once."

"I would say that you're exaggerating, but you could be right with that estimate."

"Doing the Iron Man thing and the Stark Expo all at once seems like too much, in my opinion," the doctor ventured. "I would advise against it, but I know how much you enjoy lectures on moderation and balance."

"Yeah, not my brand of vodka, but I was doing well at taking directions on our last mission – ask Julia."

"Actually, it's true," she confirmed.

Yinsen looked mildly impressed. "Though I don't believe that you would be able to convince Virginia of that."

Julia sat down at Tony's desk and pulled up the footage of their most recent mission. While watching it she paused in several places and zoomed in on the stills, and finally isolated a few for closer examination. "Hey Tony, I've got a question."

"Shoot."

"What is this logo? It seems familiar." She put it up on the holographic display for him to look at.

"That's the Hammer Industries logo. Is this from the other day?"

"Yes. I noticed this on some of the munitions and wanted to identify it since I knew that it wasn't your stuff. That makes sense though; Justin Hammer is a weapons developer."

Tony scoffed. "That's what he thinks. Most of his tech doesn't really work, or it just underwhelms at best."

"Ah, he's your competitor," Yinsen said.

"He's a wannabe."

"Well, my question is – what is Hammer's tech doing in the hands of this group?"

"And my question is – with all of the Stark Tech that this group had, why did they bother getting Hammer's stuff?" Tony remarked sarcastically.

"Is he into black market deals?"

"I don't know what that punk is into these days. He was never high on my radar; I had other things I was more focused on."

"And unfortunately the company is still not one of them," Pepper interjected. She marched into the shop with a file and set it in front of Tony.

"That's not entirely accurate," he countered, "I was always at meetings."

"And you were always cutting out of meetings too." She gave him a squinting look and continued before he could start speaking. "But, I'm not dwelling on the past."

"I'm glad to hear it, Ms. Potts; that's the Stark spirit!"

She tapped one of her manicured nails on the folder. "This is some paperwork that you need to look over and sign. If you want to make any changes, please make notes on the document and I'll modify it."

"Okay, paperwork is the last thing I want to be doing right now. I've got about seventy-four hundred things to do already."

"I thought we agreed on fifty-two," Julia teased him.

"This is stuff for the Expo," Pepper said matter-of-factly.

"Oh… thanks."

"You're welcome. I can see that you're all busy, so I'll let you get on with your work. I'm upstairs in the office if you need me." She started heading back to the door. "Yinsen, please don't let him forget about the Expo documents."

"I'll remind him."

"Thank you."

After Pepper left, Tony returned to the conversation they were having prior. "Maybe we should be looking out for Hammer products in the conflicts zone we go into."

"If he's illegally supplying arms, we need to uncover the channels he's using. The black market is pumping more weapons into these areas than the legitimate deals."

"Well, Dark Maiden, that sounds like a mission for you."

She smirked. "I'm going to tackle the world's illegal arms trade – right."

"One dealer at a time," he said in reply.

"That reminds me, I should get to work; I came down to work on the Mark-J2."

"How's that coming along?"

"Quite well, I'll show you the renderings in a bit."

After the battle that she and Stark had had with the Iron Monger a few months ago, Tony had decided to make a Mark IV version of his suit after deeming the Mark III too damaged. Julia had chosen to repair her suit; however, now it felt like she really could benefit from an upgrade.

"Hey, there's something else that I want to work on," she said. "I've gotten used to the HUD in the Mark-J helmet, and I've found that when I'm wearing my motorcycle helmet I really miss having that info. What do you think about installing a heads-up display system in my helmet?"

Tony grinned at her. "I love it. Link it up with J.A.R.V.I.S."

"Alright!"

Julia went over to grab her helmet off her motorcycle, and noticed Yinsen working on something strange.

"It's ballistics gel," he explained. "It acts as a simulation for human flesh."

"What are you using it for?"

"I'm trying to develop new methods of shrapnel extraction. I want to see if an electromagnetic tool would aide in that without causing further damage to the tissue. Of course, in Tony's case this would not work, but it might in others."

Julia glanced back at Tony, hunched over something he was wiring. The shrapnel in his chest was going to remain there forever. But he was alive and living almost normally despite it.

"This is really innovative, Yinsen. I know that there are lots of veterans out there who would be interested in this."

"Well, if I get things to work sufficiently, I would like to present it to the medical world. I am also interested in helping civilians and children. While you and Tony remove the weapons, I want to try and help with the damage that has already been inflicted."

She smiled. "Let me know if there's anything I can do to help."

* * *

Six days later, Julia had finished modifying her motorcycle helmet and was ready to take it out on the road for the first time. Although Tony could have had it done in a few hours, he had insisted that she do most of the work herself, and she had insisted on doing some proper tests even before field testing. In all, Julia was pleased with the end result.

As she revved the engine and entered the freeway, the heads-up display instantly gave her information on the speeds and distances of nearby cars, not to mention road and weather conditions. Julia felt a smile spread across her face when she sped into traffic and deftly swerved in between slower moving vehicles. As her body moved with the motorcycle, for a moment it felt like she was flying in her suit.

"Ms. Ramirez, you have an incoming call from a Mr. Pratt," Jarvis politely informed her. "Will you accept or decline the call?"

Julia's eyes flicked up to his name on the display. As much as she didn't want to interrupt her ride, she felt obligated to talk to him. "I'll take it, just let me pull over."

After safely navigating to the side of the freeway, she let Jarvis connect the call through her helmet, and Pratt's voice came through.

"Julia, how have you been?"

"I'm doing alright. Sorry I haven't called you in while."

"It's okay, I've been pretty busy myself; I'm stationed at Patrick Air Force Base."

'How has that been going?"

"Really good – it's great to be working again. I'm sure you must be itching to get back."

"Actually, I haven't really been thinking about it. I've got some other stuff going on that's keeping me pretty busy."

"Hey, that reminds me – have you found your own place yet?"

"I'm working on that," she said, although it wasn't entirely accurate.

"Things must have gotten weird living at Stark's place when he launched that whole Iron Man thing."

"Yeah…" she mumbled.

"Come on, you've got to give me some details! You've got the inside look at Tony Stark's life. And what about the Dark Maiden? Some people are saying that it's his assistant, but I can't imagine her fighting anybody. You, on the other hand…"

"What are you getting at?" Julia asked, trying to keep the rising irritation out of her voice.

"There is only one person who could be the Dark Maiden – you."

Whatever she was thinking of saying got caught in her throat. Julia could feel perspiration starting to prickle her skin under her jacket.

"I mean, it's obvious;" Pratt continued, "you have been living with Stark for months, you have air force training, and you're female. Bingo! I have to admit that I'm a little hurt that you didn't tell me earlier…"

"Stark's projects are not something that I can talk about."

"Oh, so you're a project of his?" he said mischievously.

Julia ignored the comment. "And it's very important to me that my identity remains a secret."

"Even from your boyfriend?"

"I have to protect the people who are closest to me."

"Come on, I was going to find out eventually. What about your family?"

"We don't talk about it."

"They probably already know."

"And that's where it ends. Can I trust you not to breathe a word about this?"

"Of course! I'm surprised that you would feel the need to ask. Chill out – your secret is safe with me. Hey, what's that sound in the background? Are you on a busy street or something?"

"Actually, I'm on the shoulder of the freeway right now; I pulled over to talk."

"Are you standing outside?"

"Yes, I'm on my motorcycle."

"You got a motorcycle?! Since when?" the surprise in his voice was evident.

"Just recently; the last time we talked I guess I forgot to mention that I was getting my license."

"That's pretty cool. You're such a tough chick, Ramirez. Send me a photo, like a sexy one of you on the motorcycle," he joked.

"Not gonna happen, Pratt."

"Well, I just wanted to give you a shout, see how you are. Don't be such a stranger, okay?"

"Yeah, alright. Talk with you later."

"Take care, superwoman!" he said with a laugh.

Julia felt unsettled and even a little angry by the time she ended the called. She knew that the topic would come up at some point, but hadn't expected Pratt to be so casual about it. He was an airman too; surely he would recognize the importance of sensitive information being leaked. Something else he had said also disturbed her – he in fact was her boyfriend, a term she never even thought about in connection with him. That being said, did he have a right to know what she and Stark were doing?

The previously peaceful motorcycle ride now turned into an outlet to relieve the tension that she now felt. Julia started it and sped into traffic at an alarming pace. At the rate she was moving, it wasn't too long before she saw the red and blue lights in her rear-view mirrors.

* * *

Julia arrived back at Stark's workshop a while later feeling steamed. She yanked off her helmet and the rest of her gear, and marched upstairs. Tony was nowhere to be found, and neither was Yinsen. Heading straight for her room, she nearly collided with Pepper Potts in the hallway.

"Sorry," she muttered, a little embarrassed.

"Don't worry about it. Everything okay?"

"Yeah, fine. And you?"

"I'm doing alright – thanks for asking."

"Where are the guys?"

"Tony is in his office, and Yinsen just left for a medical lecture he wanted to attend; Happy is driving him."

"Oh… Wait, Tony is in his office?" she repeated.

Pepper laughed. "It's hard to believe, I know. He's in a conference with the Department of Defense."

"I see."

"Would you like for me to tell him that you're back?"

"No, thank you. I'm going to go unwind for a bit."

"Well, enjoy!" the red-haired woman said with a smile.

Once Julia got to her room, she tossed her clothing and driving infraction notice on a chair and drew a bath. She slid into the hot water and tried to let the aroma of the essential oils calm her. Although the circumstances with Pratt should not have been an issue, she suddenly felt threatened. Maybe she had built another world for herself, living in Stark's mansion; her own insulated bubble that existed separate from the world. She was beginning to understand Tony Stark's lifestyle in a way that she never could have imagined. Now she wasn't sure whether it would be good for her to continue living that way…

Outside the bathroom door she heard footsteps approaching. Before Julia had the time to be alarmed, there was a brief knock at the door, immediately followed by the door being swung wide open.

"Hey Julia, I-"

"Tony! For goodness' sake!" she exclaimed, trying to duck deeper into the tub.

"Whoa, sorry!" he put a hand up to shield his eyes as he sat down on a low bench. "You mind if a take a moment?"

"Seriously? I'm naked – can't it wait?"

He lowered his hand, not able to see anything anyways. "Not really."

Julia heaved a sigh.

"I did knock this time," he said in an attempt to pacify her.

"Okay, just get on with it…"

"Alright. I just got out of a video conference with the D.O.D. and it seems that they could use some help with a situation."

"Since when are they coming to you for assistance? Aren't they on your back about the whole Iron Man project?"

"They are, no doubt about that, but apparently this is a bit of a clandestine operation that they want us to do."

"Both of us?"

"Yeah. It goes like this: An army ranger went missing on an operation about seven months ago, and was presumed dead. However, he recently turned up in a particularly volatile area in the Middle East, and he's working with a mercenary group that has been employed by the other side. So, he's basically doing hits on the US Army. Our mission is to apprehend this group and turn in this guy."

"I don't see how this classifies as something we should be doing; we're not bounty hunters."

"That's what I told them, but this group has extensive links to other para-military contractors, terrorists, and black markets agents, which is what we're after. So, I told them that the Dark Maiden and I would discuss it."

"You actually said 'Dark Maiden'?"

"Well, yeah, it _is_ your name."

Julia smiled a bit. "Well, I think I get why we're being asked to do this – it will look like just a part of our job, and far less paperwork for the top brass."

"But what we'll have in return is better access to the regions weapons dealers and warmongers."

Julia thought it over and let out a breath of air. "I say we go for it."

"Me too." Tony stood. "I'll go let them know that we've accepted."

"Ask Virginia to go over the terms of agreement; I don't want to get burned by doing a mission like this."

"Good idea." He turned to leave, then slowly spun back on his heel. "One more thing – that's one heck of a speeding ticket you got!"

Tony darted out of the bathroom, but not before getting splashed with water.


	4. Two Wrongs Make A Mess

_**Author's Note: **_Aside from the opening, this chapter is pretty much straight action. Even so, I hope to get you thinking about how being Iron Man and Dark Maiden puts Tony and Julia into situations where the difference between right and wrong isn't so well-defined. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 4 – Two Wrongs Make a Mess**

"Is it ready yet?" Julia asked as she walked into the workshop.

Yinsen looked up from what he was working on and smiled at her. "You're starting to sound like Tony."

"He's got a point, you know," the man himself added. "Hey J.A.R.V.I.S., what is the estimated completion time on the suit?"

"Approximately one hour and fifty-seven minutes," the A.I. responded.

"Yeah, you've got two hours to kill," Tony reaffirmed.

Julia let out a long sigh. Last night she had finished working on her new suit, the Mark-J2. After it passed Tony's inspection, they had started the automatic fabrication process; it was a long wait. After a quick test flight, Stark and Ramirez planned to leave for the Middle East on their mission to apprehend a rogue army ranger.

"Actually, it's a good thing that you came down," Yinsen told her. "Tony was about to test the portable suit."

"The 'suitcase' suit? Great!"

"I'm going to grab a thick sweatshirt," Tony said, "I want to make sure that I can put in on over any clothing."

"Good idea," she agreed. "I'll put the case on the test mat."

The red and silver metal case was heavier than it looked. The idea was that Stark would be able to don his Iron Man attire in any place, at any time, so that he could tackle an emergency situation. A lightweight suit that could be carried in a practical way was the best answer to this problem. However, Tony had found it challenging to compact an entire suit of armour and then make it all reopen without jamming.

"Okay, let's do this! Dummy – roll film!" he called out to his robot.

Yinsen came over and stood beside Julia. "This is the first time he's gotten it to open properly," he whispered to her.

Stark stood in front of the case and activated it. As he picked it up, the metal unfolded and began to spread out across his chest and arms to form a suit. It seemed like everything was going all right, but then Tony suddenly cried out.

"Something's wrong - it's too tight!"

Julia and Yinsen leapt into action and ran over, but then stopped short when they realized that they had no idea how to stop the suit from attaching itself to Tony's body.

"Seriously… can't move… can't breathe…"

The chest-piece had tightened so much that he could barely expand his ribcage to draw breath. The strain of the suit constricting his body and holding his arms outstretched made him stumble to his knees.

"Get it off!" he muttered, his face going red.

"J.A.R.V.I.S., deactivate the prototype!" Julia yelled.

"Prototype deactivated."

Tony's entire upper body was already encased.

"Can this thing retract?" Yinsen asked, partly to Tony, and partly to the A.I.

"I designed it to," he replied. "Can't feel my hands…"

"Attempting to retract suit…"

There were some clicks and clanks, and then the movement stopped.

"It seems that the prototype has snagged on an article of clothing," J.A.R.V.I.S. informed them.

"Nice going with the sweatshirt," Julia teased her friend.

"I'll get a screwdriver," Yinsen announced.

Tony swore furiously under his breath. "Get that robot over here! No wait! The suiting system – get me into that!"

Between Julia, Yinsen, and Dummy, they hauled him over to the machine and let it properly remove the armour from him. The moment he was free, Tony staggered to a seat and gasped for air.

"Okay… I'll have to do… some tweaking…"

Yinsen wiped his forehead with a handkerchief. "These tests are such an adrenaline rush – I'm surprised you never talk about them in interviews!"

Just then, Pepper entered the workshop.

"Before you head off on this mission, it would be much appreciated if you… What's going on?" She eyed the flushed face of her boss, and the not-so-innocent faces of his friends, and the mangled equipment lying on the floor. "You nearly killed yourself again with one of those crazy tests, didn't you?!"

"Trial and error." Yinsen said with a shrug.

Julia grinned and Tony gave a thumbs-up sign.

Pepper sighed and smiled a bit. "I'm always missing the fun stuff."

* * *

Flying halfway around the world had never been as easy as the past several hours that Iron Man and Dark Maiden had spent traveling to their mission. For Julia, it was the first flight in her new Mark-J2 armour, and it handled like a dream. Soon enough she would get the chance to use the multitude of new weapons, but for now she was enjoying the increased power and enhanced flight capabilities.

"We're almost there," Tony said.

"I'm not picking up any signs of life on the scans."

"This is where the D.O.D. said the group was located."

"Do they _know_ these guys are camped here, or did 'intelligence suggest' they're here?" Julia asked, being well acquainted with military lingo.

"Uh… I'm not sure."

"Well, they could be working under radio silence if they know that the military is onto them."

"I can see a small base in that small valley; want to have a look?"

"Sure. Looks pretty quiet. Maybe they're still asleep."

"Then they're in for a rude awakening."

Stark and Ramirez landed hard enough to blast the dust off the ground and everything else. They stood back to back with their weapons drawn, and inspected the camp. It was a good place to hide – it was protected by two large hills and there was likely a subterranean escape route underneath. However, nothing stirred.

"Okay, either everyone is really hung-over, or they aren't home," Tony quipped.

"Actually, it looks abandoned. These vehicles could barely run, and the shelters are tattered. This is weird," Julia murmured.

"Would they just up and leave?"

"I guess…"

"Something's not right," Tony muttered.

No sooner than the words were out of his mouth, did warning signs start flashing on the HUD of both suits.

"Incoming missile," J.A.R.V.I.S. told them.

"What? From who?" Julia asked.

"Undetermined."

"How much you want to bet that someone is trying to get rid of us?" Tony glanced at her on the interface.

"The Department of Defense wouldn't send us here and then try to blow us up… would they?"

"That's kinda how it's looking right now."

They fired their thrusters to get airborne. The estimated impact countdown showed that they had just enough time to get clear of the blast zone. J.A.R.V.I.S. flashed new information on-screen about the type of missile and its trajectory. Julia's eyes widened.

The A.I. now spoke in an urgent tone: "Inbound Jericho missile. Additional rockets releasing now. Impact in four seconds. Collision imminent."

"We're not going to get clear in time!" she shouted.

"Head for the top of the farther hill!" he yelled back.

They made an abrupt halt in midair and turned to retreat. Julia let out a gasp when she saw dozens of smaller missiles bearing down on them. If they could make it over that ridge they would be shielded from the explosion. Though Stark and Ramirez were streaking through the air, the rockets were just as fast. Scores of missiles detonated the hills just as they reached the crest, and caused a landslide in the valley they had been standing in moments earlier.

Tony and Julia had been too close to avoid damage. The immense shockwave had them reeling, and then the debris knocked them down; they hit the earth on the far side of the hill. The suits' computer systems fed Stark and Ramirez data long before the smoke cleared. When it did, Julia saw Tony lying nearby. A glance at the in-helmet cam showed that he was fine.

"I feel like we should have seen that coming," he murmured.

"That's the point of an ambush – you don't see it coming."

"How did they know we would be here?"

"Good question."

"Whenever you're ready, we can drop in on our new favourite mercenary group; J.A.R.V.I.S. tracked the missile back to the origin point."

"Do you think it was coincidence that they used the Jericho?"

"Well, if it's not then it's a pretty cocky move – trying to shoot me down with my own weapon."

"Sounds like a message to me."

"And they've got my attention. You okay?"

"Aside from my brand new suit getting scuffed, I'm alright. Let's go, I'm ready for round two."

Iron Man and Dark Maiden picked themselves up and raced towards the actual camp. Before getting too close, they both launched a couple rockets and followed the projectiles to the ground. Their pre-strike served to disrupt the mercenaries, who were rushing to ready more of their arsenal. With the suits' vision cutting through the smoke of the explosion, Stark and Ramirez got right to work destroying all the weapons they could find. In the plan that they had devised, Tony would draw everyone's attention and gunfire, while Julia would track down the group's computer systems. In addition, they had to find the rogue army ranger who was at the center of this issue. A signal registered on her HUD and it localized to a structure at the rear. Julia ran over and kicked the door in and found three men hunched over a bank of tech equipment. Including her, everyone in the room drew their weapons at once.

"Well, well, if it isn't Iron Man's bitch," one man taunted.

The other two joined in with making filthy remarks, most of them related to her gender. However, it wasn't anything she hadn't heard before. Without uttering a word in reply, Dark Maiden blasted one of the supporting beams of the structure, and stood there as it collapsed on top of everyone. She threw the debris out of her way and uncovered the computers that the men were working on.

The equipment was sturdy and thus still functioning. It appeared that they were simultaneously encrypting, sending, and deleting information. From a small compartment in her suit she pulled out one of Stark's portable drives – one that could hack into practically anything and copy the information. As she waited for the device, one of the soldiers dug his way out of the building materials and shot her point blank in the back. The bullet ricocheted off and Julia couldn't help but grin at the strength of the new armour; the damage was barely even registering. She grabbed two of the men and threw them backwards about thirty feet. The remaining man continued to fire at her until she grabbed the barrel of his gun and clamped it closed. By then the drive had finished and Julia secured it in her suit.

"Hey Tony, I've got the information. How are things going at your end?"

"I wouldn't be offended if you dropped by…" he replied, his voice sounding strained from exertion.

She recognized his indirect call for help; firing her thrusters she rushed over to the center of the camp and found Iron Man getting pelted by all manner of automatic rifles and grenade launchers. These contractors were much more prepared for their raid than she had expected. And they had the pair surrounded. Once Tony got airborne a bit, Julia was able to protect his back, but they were still taking heavy fire.

"This looks like the entire compound – why can't I see this guy?" she shouted.

"He's got to be here somewhere. J.A.R.V.I.S., scan the drivers of those trucks and see what comes up on the facial recognition."

"No matches," the A.I. responded. "However, I should warn you that power levels are at-"

"Not now, J.A.R.V.I.S."

"Wait, I'm picking up something on my scans," Julia told him. "There's an outbound vehicle heading east from here."

"I'll take a look."

"Okay. I'll check the vehicles here."

Iron Man jet skyward, prompting a momentary break in the shooting, followed by the launch of a rocket.

"Hey Tony, you've picked up a tail."

She chuckled when she heard him cursing. Julia flew over to a Gurkha LAPV and started prying the door open. She was met with a barrage of bullets to the face and she staggered backwards. Her helmet was showing some damage. The gun mounted on top of the armoured vehicle swiveled towards her and opened fire. The soldier inside Gurkha continued to shoot at her with his AK, and after a few moments she was forced to withdraw, flying up and over another structure. The mercenaries continued to shoot and the bullets were tearing through the large tent.

"Ramirez – the guy in the truck is our ranger!" Tony exclaimed.

"Great. What about that rocket?"

"Taken care of. I'm intercepting him."

"I'll meet you over there."

The Dark Maiden blasted out of the compound, but not before taking a few shots at the larger weaponry. Satisfied with the resulting explosions, she soared up over the desert, and spotted Iron Man on top of a Suburban in the middle of a fight with the ex-army ranger inside. The man was swerving wildly and trying to shoot him through a hole in the roof. As she raced towards the scene, Julia watched as the truck hit a rock and a couple tires came off the ground. She cringed as it rolled and Stark went tumbling away. After three rotations, it lurched to a halt on its wheels.

"Tony!" she yelled, and dropped to the ground next to him. Julia flipped the faceplate of her helmet open and did a cursory look at his suit; she wasn't sure if the SUV had rolled on top of him.

His helmet opened up as well and his eyes met hers; despite having a bruised face he seemed alright. "Next time, you get to chase the fleeing guy."

"I'm going to see if he's still alive."

Her helmet shut and she walked over to where the vehicle sat smoking. Cautiously going around to the driver's side, she stopped when she saw the man sitting on ground leaning against the tire, and clutching his rifle. He fiercely aimed it at her with one arm and she realized the other was broken. Although the thrusters in her palms were pointed at him, she lowered her arms and took a non-aggressive stance.

The ranger lay down the gun and stared at her a moment.

"Is Iron Man dead?" he asked.

"No."

"Then why are you here instead of him?"

"How did you know we were coming?" she countered with a question.

"We didn't. We received information that the army was planning a raid on our group. It was a surprise to have the Iron Man himself show up – and his sidekick of course. I'm kind of disappointed that the Jericho didn't bury both of you."

"How can you work with mercenaries? You were in the army."

He cocked his head. "You're military, aren't you? Which division? Army? Navy? Air Force?"

Julia was glad that her helmet not only shielded her identity, but also her expressions; she was startled by how fast he could read her.

"It's okay, you don't have to tell. Let me explain this for you. I was in an undercover op, trying to find out a leak in intelligence. Turned out that it was an officer who was doing deals on the side. I lost several friends as a result of those leaks. And after all of that, this officer gets off without a scandal. I couldn't work under anyone else like that. Going into the private sector was my choice. And I prefer 'para-military contactor', by the way."

"You did hits on the side you used to fight for."

"You've got some bad intel there. Until recently we were contracted by the military. Ever heard of General Ross?"

"As in Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross?"

"The same. He had us doing some dirty work for him, stuff he couldn't get approved, and ever since then he has been trying to cover it up by wiping us off the map. I'm just surprised that he has Iron Man on a leash."

Julia's mind reeled. She desperately needed to confirm this information, but at the same time found it difficult to question the information that Stark had received. It was just as possible that this man was lying through his teeth. She didn't know much about Ross, but his reputation was dubious at best.

Her display showed Tony approaching. "What's this? Talking with the enemy?" he heckled.

"I can't understand why you'd want to work for a guy like Stark," the soldier addressed her. "He's a hypocrite if ever I saw one."

"Well, it takes one to know one, buddy. Now isn't it time we wrap this up and stick this guy in a room full of military police?"

"It sure would've been ironic to blow you apart with your own Jericho missile," the man taunted.

"That's it-" Stark growled and started towards him.

Julia thrust out her hand and stopped Tony in his tracks. "Enough! Both of you! We are going to get this resolved here and now."

"Resolve what? We're taking him in."

"Hey Stark, why don't you listen to the Dark Maiden here?"

"I think you're missing the point of the suit – when I'm wearing it I'm _Iron Man_," he retorted.

She had had all that she was going to take from the arguing men. Julia got right in front of Tony and stared into the glowing eyes of his helmet with her own. "Conference. Now."

They walked a few paces from the wounded man and switched off their external audio so that they could talk privately.

"Tony, we've been set up."

"You're kidding, right?"

"I'm sure you've done business with General Ross; you tell me if he's prone to doing unethical stuff, because from what I've heard, he'll do anything for a victory. Our man over there says that his para-military group was working for Ross."

He was silent for a moment. In the face-cam she could see him absorbing the information. "Well, there was that thing with the gamma radiation testing…" he murmured.

Julia continued. "He claims that our being called out here is just a part of the General's efforts to take care of loose ends. What we need is a way to confirm if he's telling the truth or not."

"There probably is information on those hard drives you got, but I won't examine their contents without a secure setup since they likely are booby-trapped. I'm going to make a call."

A phone rang on the other side of the world, and a woman finally answered. "H-hello?"

"Hi Pepper, it's me. You sound really tired."

"Tony?" There was an exasperated sigh from the other side. "It's two seventeen in the morning! Remember what we discussed about middle-of-the-night calls?"

"Yes, I know, I'm sorry, but this is a genuine emergency."

"It better be…" Pepper grumbled.

"Okay, remember that secret mission that the D.O.D. asked me to do, the one we're on now?"

"Yes."

"I need you to look at the files for that. Please."

"Seriously? Why didn't you scan them and put them into your system, Mister Tech Genius?"

"That's not a bad idea…"

"Alright, hold on a minute, I'm going to stumble over to the office."

"Are you at my place or yours?"

"Yours. I didn't want Yinsen to have to be alone in this big place while you two were out."

"That's sweet of you. What are you wearing right now?"

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."

Tony glanced over at Julia. "It'll be a minute or two – hang tight."

She sighed. All of this standing around was starting to remind her of how tired she felt without the adrenaline pulsing; though the suit could basically do the standing for her.

By then Pepper had reached the office and was pulling out the documents. "I've got them, now what am I supposed to look for?"

"I need the names of those involved with this assignment."

She flipped through several pages. "I practically had to twist some arms to get this paperwork, you know." Finally she found a few signatories and read out the names.

"J.A.R.V.I.S., cross-reference those names with General Ross," Tony instructed.

There was a brief pause, then a chart appeared on Tony and Julia's displays. "A search of our databases shows that all of the signatories are connected to General Thaddeus Ross – they have either worked together on operations, or have served under him and support his agendas."

"Well, I think that settles it."

"Mr. Stark, I'm going back to bed," his assistant announced.

"Of course. Thank you, Ms. Potts."

"Uh huh. Next time, please just scan this stuff."

"Will do. Over and out."

Iron Man and Dark Maiden returned to where the man still sat, though he now had a bit of a smile on his face.

"Watching you two 'talk' was the funniest thing I've seen in a while. All gestures, but no sound – like a couple of mimes!" He started to laugh, but winced and groaned in pain.

"Cracked ribs too?" Julia asked.

"Yeah. Thanks a lot, _Iron Man_," he said sarcastically.

Before Tony could reply, she began giving an update on the situation. "We've been able to verify your story. It appears that Ross got some friends of his to set up our mission."

"If he had asked us himself, there's no way I would have agreed to it," Stark confirmed. "He was obnoxious to deal with even when I was in the weapons business, and he hasn't been thrilled that I haven't wanted to share the Iron Man suit designs."

"Well, you sure could make a bundle off of that tech. Why don't you sell it?" the soldier asked.

Tony did something that was unexpected – he opened the faceplate of his helmet and couched down so that he was more at eye-level with the other man. "Because I saw what my weapons did to people. Before I was held hostage in Afghanistan, I thought of death and destruction in a detached way. I thought that since I wasn't involved in the politics and the conflicts, that none of it was my problem. I was wrong." He stood up. "I don't know why my father chose to make weapons, but that's not the legacy I want to leave behind."

The other man nodded thoughtfully. "Fair enough. But what about your sidekick? How do you fit into this crusade?"

Julia stayed where she was. "I won't stand by and watch others get beaten down, simple as that."

There was a brief silence before the man spoke again. "So, what happens now?"

"We're taking off," Tony replied.

"That's it?" the man exclaimed.

"Pretty much. Dark Maiden's radioing your team and they'll be arriving soon to pick you up."

He swore angrily. "You nearly demolished our base and cost us tens of thousands in weapons, and you're just going to walk away?!"

"You really want us to stick around and rebuild?"

Julia stepped towards him. "I am sorry that we came down on you – we should've done more fact-checking. Your group can continue contract military jobs, but this doesn't make us friends. If you cross a line, don't think that we won't come back for you."

Tony snapped his helmet shut. "What she said." He held up a couple fingers in a peace sign before they both rocketed skyward.


	5. The Calm Before

_**Author's Note: **_Sorry that it has been so long for my last post – life keeps on getting in the way of writing! This chapter was starting to get too long, so I've had it end rather abruptly, but it allows for a bit of a break in the action. I'm very pleased with a particular scene in here with Julia and Yinsen; I've been missing Yinsen! As a side note, I haven't seen _Iron Man 3_ yet, so please no spoilers!

* * *

**Chapter 5 – The Calm Before**

Cruising through the stratosphere at a supersonic speed was usually a peaceful experience for Julia; this time she felt impatient to get out of her suit. Not only did she and Stark have hours of flying still to do, they would also have to make a stop at the Department of Defense headquarters. All she wanted was get home. The mission they had accepted hadn't gone well and Julia felt agitated. They had narrowly avoided making the mistake of obliviously carrying out General Ross' questionable orders. She knew that Tony was angry about being used, but they hadn't spoken much since leaving the Middle East behind them.

Somewhere over northern Europe, Julia was awakened by an indicator beeping inside her helmet. The suits had an auto-pilot function, which would allow Stark and Ramirez to rest while they flew across the globe. She was alarmed to learn that Stark was quickly drifting out of their pre-programmed altitude.

"J.A.R.V.I.S., get me Tony on-screen."

The camera showed that he was still sleeping.

"Hey Tony," she called. Julia frowned when he didn't respond. "Tony, wake up. You've got to course correct."

His eyelids didn't even flutter.

J.A.R.V.I.S. gave her an update; "The Mark IV is running low on power. A new palladium cartridge is needed soon. Mr. Stark appears to be unconscious."

"WHAT?!" she shouted. "Wake him up!"

"Increasing oxygen ratio inside of the Mark IV."

After a few tense moments Tony returned to a conscious state.

"Hey, what's with all the alarms on here?" she could hear him ask.

"Tony, you blacked out. Are you alright? What's going on?"

"I'm fine, it's nothing."

"'Nothing'?" Julia repeated incredulously.

"Okay, not 'nothing'. I just need a new cartridge in my arc reactor. The systems get a little haywire when the palladium is almost used up. Not to mention the fact that I don't feel so great either."

"You scared the life outta me!"

"Sorry. I should work on a better monitoring system."

"Are you going to make it back okay?"

"I could do with some time on the ground, maybe let things cycle some power around."

"Well, you're going to have to wait until we make the coast."

"Yeah…" he replied, and went quiet for a minute. "Wait a moment, there are ski hills down there."

"You lost me…"

"We're over Finland – we could take a break at a ski resort!"

"Oh no, we can't just-"

"Of course we can! They would love to have us drop in. Think of the publicity for them. Come on Ramirez!"

Julia could have kept protesting but he was already descending quickly, so she was obliged to follow. Going through the troposphere was not her idea of fun though; it was snowing and the flying conditions were difficult at best. They landed at the hotel's entrance, and she followed Tony as he swaggered inside. People stopped in their tracks, jaws dropped, a stunned expression was on every face. It only lasted for a few seconds though, because instantly everyone pulled out cell phones and cameras and rushed over.

"Iron Man is here!" people cried out, which alerted anyone within earshot.

Tony took off his helmet and grinned. "We're not checking in; we just stopped for a break. How is everyone?"

A staff member appeared with a tray bearing two large martinis, and Stark was already reaching for them. Julia knew she had to say something.

"No drinking and flying."

He grimaced and sighed. "Alas, my wingman is right," he said dramatically. "Could we get something of the non-alcoholic variety?"

The waitress returned with two glasses of mineral water, and Tony gulped his while winking at the young woman.

Julia suddenly realized that she couldn't even take a sip of her own drink without removing her helmet. Instead she asked for a straw and opened the faceplate just a crack. People stared and snapped what would surely be hilarious photos. Awkward was not something she was accustomed to feeling.

"Why don't you take off your helmet, like Stark?" someone asked, their accent heavy.

Tony was quick on the draw and answered for her. "The Dark Maiden is so beautiful that it would hurt to look directly at her."

The person persisted. "But why do you keep secrets? Everyone knows who Tony Stark is, and he doesn't hide it."

"I'm not famous like him. I've got an identity to protect." She turned to Stark. "We should get going."

"Alright, alright… you're sounding like Pepper." He addressed the crowd that had gathered. "We've got a long way to travel, so we'll be leaving in a few moments. That said, let's take a group photo and make it snappy!"

With the photo op done, they rocketed back up into the stratosphere. Going with the curvature of the earth, their route would take them a little farther north before they could reach the state of Virginia – one more stop until home.

* * *

It felt like the robots couldn't take her suit off fast enough. Like she was suffocating in there. Finally free and gasping for breath, Julia looked around the workshop and saw that it was empty. Tony was still flying back. They made a brief stop at the D.O.D. headquarters where they had words with one of the men who had sent them on that mission; General Ross was _conveniently_ unavailable. After that Tony wanted to make another detour, so he urged her to return to California. Julia desperately needed the downtime. As she ascended the stairs to the main floor, she met Yinsen.

"You're finally back!" he greeted her with a smile. "J.A.R.V.I.S. told me you had arrived. And Stark?"

"On his way."

"How did things go?"

"Not good."

"Oh…"

"I really don't want to talk about it right now. I'm going to get something to eat."

"Alright. I'll be waiting for Tony in the shop."

He rubbed her shoulder as she passed, and Julia felt a little guilty for being short with him. Once in the kitchen, she found an abundance of food in the refrigerator; Pepper had probably gotten it restocked. As she made herself a huge club sandwich, Julia thought that she heard a familiar tread of shoes. She took a deep breath – she was too keyed up, her mind was playing tricks on her. Almost done preparing her meal, she froze when she heard it again. Julia swallowed hard and tried to ignore the sound of her heart beating. All she could think of was the assassin Marius Dellinger, the brutal fight, the blood on the floor. She shut her eyes tightly but she still saw the scenes replaying.

"It's all in your head, you're just imagining it," Julia muttered to herself.

Then she heard the footsteps right behind her – this was real. Her hand flashed out and grabbed a knife from the butcher's block. She spun around, weapon drawn, just as the person entered the kitchen.

"Ramirez! What the-"

Suddenly she recognized the clothing the man wore – an air force uniform.

"R-Rhodes?" she stammered, her aggressive stance immediately relaxing.

"What are you doing?" Rhodey asked while backing away and trying to keep his tone level.

A female voice could now be heard, accompanied by the clacking of high heels.

"James, did you find the… Oh my gosh! What is going on here?!" Pepper exclaimed when she too entered the kitchen.

"I-I thought he was… an intruder," Julia struggled for words.

Rhodes spoke, though not sure of what to make of the scenario. "Now that you've determined that I'm not an intruder, could you put the knife down?"

She stared at the instrument in her hand; it was only a mini chef's knife, chosen for the ease that it rested in her palm. Julia returned the knife to its place and the other two people all but breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sorry. I just got back from a mission and I'm a little…tense. I didn't know that you were here. I'm sorry."

Rhodes nodded his acknowledgment. "I know what it's like to come home after a bad mission."

"I'm going to go…" Julia grabbed her lunch and fled the kitchen, trying not to make eye contact with Pepper, whose eyes were still widened in fear.

Julia went straight to her room and flopped on the sofa.

"J.A.R.V.I.S., I don't want to be disturbed for a while."

"I will alert all callers and those paging you that you are temporarily unavailable," the seemingly omnipresent butler responded.

"Thanks."

* * *

When Julia awoke hours later, she was surprised to see that it was dark outside. She had crashed right on the sofa, and someone had snuck in and put a blanket on her. J.A.R.V.I.S. informed her that it was nine-thirty; not too late in the evening. Julia left her room and walked around, eventually spotting a light on in the living room. Yinsen was sitting there, absorbed in what looked to be a textbook. He looked up at the sound of her footsteps and smiled.

"I wondered when you would wake up," he said.

"Yeah, I was exhausted."

"That's almost an understatement. You didn't look well when you came in this afternoon."

She shrugged.

"Wait here a moment, I'll get you something to eat; you're probably hungry."

"You know me too well."

The doctor returned a few minutes later with a plate of lasagna for her and a snack for himself.

"So Yinsen, how is your work coming along?"

"Quite well, actually. I think that I'm almost finished with one of the tools, and I've still got some testing to do with the second, but I'm feeling confident about it. The medical conferences I've attended have been very insightful, and I'm looking forward to doing actual surgery in the coming months. If I can get these experimental instruments of mine approved, I may even have an opportunity to use them in the field, but I don't want to get ahead of myself."

"That's so good to hear!" she said enthusiastically.

"Tony is eager to help out, and wants to take more technology to hospitals right away, but we'll have to perfect things here before we can let them out into the world." He paused, observing her expression change slightly. "He was worried about you when he came home."

"Really?"

"He wanted to talk with you, but you were already sleeping."

The corner of her mouth went up in a smile as she thought of him laying the blanket on her. "I was worried about him today. He was so close to getting himself into a bad situation. I know he realizes that now, but…" she sighed. "I'm not sure what would have happened had I not been there."

"Tony was angry at himself about that mission. He stayed in the workshop all day. And after he had that argument-"

"Wait, what argument? With Pepper?"

"No, with Rhodes."

"About what?"

"The politics involving Iron Man. Virginia told me about it this evening. The government is gravely concerned about Stark having total control on what they view as the world's best weapon."

"I know the Dark Maiden isn't too popular either," she added.

"The secret identity aspect is one that people either revere or despise – there doesn't seem to be a middle ground, as with Iron Man."

"That reminds me of Tony's speech for the Jericho missile: 'Is it better to be feared or respected? Is it too much to ask for both?'"

"Depends on who one is asking."

"I must admit, I'm beginning to wonder if this hero thing is too much for us," Julia said. "I love it, but at the same time it's draining. I'm so tired I can't think straight. I nearly stabbed Rhodes this afternoon."

"Yes, I heard," Yinsen said mildly.

"And Tony is physically struggling to keep up with being Iron Man and CEO of his company, and everything else he's doing. And I'm keeping secrets from my family – I don't do that!"

She stopped to take a breath and noticed Yinsen's brow furrow.

"I'm distressed about you both, but especially Tony." He looked up at her. "All of a sudden he's not talking about his health. I wanted to take a look at his recent health stats and he said that everything was fine."

"What's so odd about that?"

"I found a box of syringes in a drawer in his desk down there. It was completely by accident; I was looking for a flash drive. I didn't want to snoop about, but there's no reason that he would have that many unless he was injecting himself on a regular basis."

"Injecting himself with what?"

"I don't know. There hasn't been a good time to bring it up."

Julia frowned. "Something has been off about him recently. I can't put my finger on it, but something has changed. It seems like he's the same – with the parties, the drinking, the numerous photos with bikini-clad girls…"

"Virginia keeps me well-informed," he commented.

"But…"

"It's as though he's withholding something?" Yinsen finished her sentence.

"Yes."

"I've wondered if he's taken to steroids."

"It's possible. He passed out when we were flying back, and he said it was because his arc reactor was low on power."

"Hmm… We'll have to keep a closer eye on him."

"Agreed."

"And you need to tell your family what you're doing."

"I can't, they won't be safe."

"Julia, you must realize that they aren't safe in ignorance either."

She heaved a sigh.

"What is the worst that could happen to them?"

"That someday someone will find out who I am, and they'll come after my family, use them against me, or worse. Marius Dellinger is still out there, I just know it."

"If he didn't succumb to his injuries, then yes, he very well might be. Now, what could you do to protect your family in case the worst should happen?"

"I could fight."

"But what if you were on the other side of the world, and all you could do is call them?"

"They would have to run." She gasped, the idea clear in her mind. "Why didn't I think of it before?! They would need to bug-out!"

Yinsen looked bewildered. "Bugs? I'm confused."

"It means that you have an escape plan in place, and you are prepared to flee to safety."

"Oh. And what would you need for that?"

"Safe houses, vehicles, clothing, food, weapons… a lot actually."

"What if you were to prepare this 'bug-out' plan for them?"

"It would be easy; I've got the experience. I'll get started first thing tomorrow."

Yinsen smiled at her, but she saw a deep sadness in his eyes. If only he had been able to do the same.

* * *

"Hey, what are you working on?"

Julia looked up to see Tony entering the workshop. He had one of his health drinks in hand, and she inwardly shuddered at what could possibly be in it to produce that color. "I'm looking at real estate."

"Oh man, you're moving out," he said jokingly, though she could hear regret in his voice.

"Well, it's not for me, not exactly."

"Come on, tell me!" Tony urged, while taking a gulp of his drink. "Unless it's a secret, in which case you definitely have to tell me."

"I'm looking for the right places to set up safe houses."

He stopped moving and stared at her. "Are you expecting trouble?"

"To be honest, yes."

"That's morbid, and not you."

Julia sighed. "I know, but I'm worrying myself sick over how my family could be in danger because of me. If anyone ever finds out my identity…"

"You're thinking of Dellinger."

"Yes."

"If he was still alive – hypothetically speaking of course – wouldn't he have come after you by now?"

"I don't know, but I don't believe he's dead."

"With the amount of blood he left behind on my floor, I would be surprised if he was still around." Tony walked over to another computer. "How many safe houses are you thinking?"

"Eight?"

"Scattered throughout the country?" he asked as he brought up a 3D holographic map of the United States.

"Yeah, you've got the right idea."

"Can I help you with this?"

Julia's eyes met his. "You've got enough to work on already."

"You're like my family, which makes your family my extended family – let me help you plan this."

"There is a lot to consider, many details, considerable expense…"

"I want to pay for it." She gave him a look but he insisted. "It's an investment."

Julia smiled a bit. "Thanks."

"Why didn't you bring this up before?"

She shrugged. "I didn't want to bug you. You have a lot going on."

"Julia, I'm never to busy for you. Besides, don't you think that I'll want somewhere to stick Pepper in case of emergency?"

"Thank you," she murmured.

"Don't mention it. What locations are you considering?"

"Well, so far I've narrowed it down to: Michigan, Kentucky, Wisconsin, and Georgia.

"What about New York, Texas, Indiana, and Ohio?"

"Alright, seven should be plenty. Now we'll need to find the right cities or town, and then suitable buildings."

"Let's both pick a state and start searching. Get J.A.R.V.I.S. to set some search parameters; it'll speed up the results."

Julia turned back to the computer screen, feeling some of the weight lift off of her shoulders. She was relieved to have a plan in motion for her family's safety, but she realized that Tony needed the same thing for the ones he cared about.


End file.
